Local and international interest was piqued when the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) announced the date for 3G and 4G auctions in Pakistan. This announcement was a long time coming, and mobile phone users and telecom companies alike have been waiting anxiously for this process to get underway.
While some people remained sceptical about the government seeing this process through this time around, it was widely expected that the auction would go forward according to the PTA’s set timeline, on April 23rd. There was speculation and debate as the PTA released their Information Memorandum (IM) outlining the hefty cost of acquiring a license for telecom operators.
Despite some concerns over the base price of the licenses, which is USD 295 million, telecom operators continued with their programs of upgrading their infrastructure and networks in preparation for launching 3G and in some cases, 4G services.
Cause For Delay
In an unanticipated turn of events, frictions arose between the Senate Standing Committee and the Ministry of Information Technology during a meeting last Thursday. The meeting was held to brief the Senate Standing Committee on the PTA’s auction process.
According to some reports, the Minister of Information Technology, Anusha Rehman was denied the opportunity to carry out a previously prepared presentation on the auction, after being halted by Mohammad Idrees Khan Safi, Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee.
The Chairman pronounced the auction illegal, creating a furor and causing an argument that lasted two hours. His reasoning was that PTA regulations state that there must be three permanent members, and one seat currently remains unfilled. The other two seats belong to the Chairman of PTA, and the Member Finance, and position to be filled is Member Compliance and Enforcement.
Citing this as a cause to halt the auction, the Chairman of the Standing Committee declared: “We recommend to the ministry of information technology to stop the auction until the vacant position is filled or else explain under what law the PTA is holding the auction when just two members are in the office.”
This led to an immediate row with the Minister of Information Technology, who declared that the mandate of the Senate Standing Committee was to make recommendations, and that these were not binding. Despite PTA Chairman stating that there is precedent for a two-member PTA, given that there were two people heading the PTA when 2G licenses were auctioned, the Senators remained adamant about the illegality of the process.
Dawn quoted Senator Rehman Malik saying, “We are not trying to create hurdles but it is imperative that legal requirements are to be fulfilled before the auction is held to avoid complications later.”
Akhlaq Ahmad Tarar also argued that the post was advertised in 2013, and that there is a shortlist but in the meantime the post has been assigned to the Secretary of the Ministry of Law and Justice on a temporary basis, until the position is filled permanently. The Senate Standing Committee however, stuck to its assertion that the auction was illegal and that the position needs to be filled in seven days, with the help of another three-member committee.
Dawn reports that only one senator disagreed with the suggestion that the auction be halted, Senator Malik Mohammad Rafique Rajwana, who was concerned that delaying now “would send a bad message to the international community.”
Other objections included concerns over the Advisory Committee for Spectrum Auction, which the Senate Standing Committee felt could hinder the clarity of the process by involving other people. In reply to this, Anusha Rehman explained that the Prime Minister had approved this committee to assist with the auction, and that this committee was formed in accordance with existing policy.
Given that the Senate Standing Committee cannot give binding orders, the PTA has decided to proceed with the auction undeterred by this last-minute hurdle. Disregarding the potential delay, the Minister of IT declared: “We will go ahead with the sale of the licenses as per schedule.”
3G Auction Process Finally Begins
April 14th was the deadline for telecom operators to submit their bids to the PTA, in the first step towards acquiring 3G and 4G licenses. ProPakistani confirmed that out of the five leading telecom operators in Pakistan, four are offering their bids: Mobilink, Telenor, Zong and Ufone. They also confirmed that Warid has chosen not to participate at this time. According to The Nation, it is expected that the licenses will be won at the base price, and that the most the government will likely be able to garner is USD 1.4 billion.
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